Ian Kingsley

When it comes to novels, I believe it is the characters that are most likely to make people remember them. If a reader identifies closely with a character it makes a tremendous impact. If they care about the protagonist, for example, it keeps the pages turning to find out what happens to them. So I try to create really memorable characters, and by knowing them well as a writer, this leads to natural plot development. I am drawn to mystery and psychological thrillers because they put you right into the mind of people who find themselves emotionally challenged, and that adds spice, pace and direction to a novel. Put these together and you have memorable characters driven by realistic plots, and a tightness of prose devoid of unnecessary diversions and ramblings. I think every word should, in some way, contribute to plot development. The other thing that I believe to be necessary is the feeling the characters move in realistic settings, and I achieve that by using places I actually know. And I try to achieve this without authorial intrusion. (So ‘purple prose’ is not allowed!)

Hopefully, all this is a combination that will bring you some entertaining reads. Please remember that if you enjoy a book, an author is so grateful if you tell the world so, through posting great reviews on Amazon. (And that includes me. I’m really, really grateful!) Most authors make very little money from writing these days, so your recommendations are highly valued, and I really thank you for your feedback and time. Remember it takes an author well over a year to create most works of fiction.

I am on Twitter as @authorkingsley, so please join me there for daily tweets. If you're not signed-up to Twitter, these tweets are copied across to my author website, iankingsley.com, where they are easy to view, even if you don’t have a Twitter account.

Please visit iankingsley.com for information, reviews, and information about the real locations I have used – including walks in some of them! ‘Sandman’ and ‘The Grave Concerns of Jennifer Lloyd’ are set in Bournemouth and Christchurch in the UK, and ‘Flying a Kite’ is set principally in Bath, UK, but it also includes real settings in Rome, Lake Garda, Tenerife, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.